Improvement in street-lamps



w. 0. WHEELER..

Street Lamp.

Patented June 23, 1868.

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Letters Patent No. 79,169, dated June 23, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN STREET LAMPS.

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TO AIiL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I g p Be it known thatl, WILLIAM 0. WHEELER, of Deposit, in the county of Delaware, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Streot-Lamps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a fulland exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the-letters of reference marked thereon. This invention consists is' certain devices, to be-hereinafter more fully described, which are applied to a street-lantern and its enclosed tube, in order to facilitatetho lighting and extinguishing of the gas.

It is well known that tlle'lighting of street-lamps, as they are now constructed, is always attended with no inconsiderable difliculty, and greatly increased in stormy weather, when lamps are most needed, and that they require the services of many men to light and extinguish any large number of lamps. v

The attendant must carry a ladder or steps, monnt'to thev lamp, and open the door before the gas can be lighted, and often in stormy weather the gas is blown out before the door can be closed. It is obvious that to go through this tedious'process at every lamp, to carry thol'adder, fix it in place,'mount, light the lamp, descend, and'take up the ladder, must consume much time, and as the lamps must be all lighted nearly at the some time, a large force of men must be employed for the purpose. And nearlythesau e process mustbe repeated, turning ofi' the gas in the morning. i

'My invention obviates the nccessity 'ot a. ladder or mounting to the lantern, and requires only that the attendant carry a torch on a pole, of sufiicient height to reach the vent from' which the gas issues.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may benble to make the same and apply it to use, I will proceed to point out and illustrate more specifically its construction and operation.

In the annexed drawings, which make part pfthis specification- Figure 1 is a view of one side of my street-lantern. Figure 2 is a view of the valves on the bottom of the lamp, and the opening which they cover. Figure 3 is a sectional view of thetube and its connection. The same letters refer to identical parts in'all the drawings. I

I The lantern is mainly of the ordinary construction, but is provided on the bottom with an opening," D, of: suficient size to admit a torch, the light of'which is to ignite the gas. This opening may be covered by one of two 'valves, Band C, of shape corresponding to the opening, and pivoted so asto move horizontally. over or from the opening. .The valve B is simply. pivoted upon the neck of the tube a, and moves closely down over the opening, entirely covering it. Both valves are provided with lugs, projecting downward in such position that they may be touched from beneath, and the vnlves'thereby operated. t

The tube a need not clifi'er materially from -the ordinary burner, except in this rcspect 'The upper part,

which may be made, for convenience, like the ordinary burner, slightly tapering, is not perforated longitudinally throughout, but has a diaphragm, m, across the passage, obstructing entirely the direct flow of the gas. Imme-' diately abovc'and' helow the diaphragm are two little orifices,fand 9, opening outward. Over this tube a, and on its tapering part, is placed the'slccvc b, constructed to fit accurately upon the tube, and rest upon a shoulder. On the innersurface ot' this' sleeve, and arranged'longitudinally, is a groove, 2, of suflicient depth to allow the passage of the gas, and long enough to cover both the openings f and g. I

To the lower part of the sleeve is attached firmly one oi the valves, 0, the tube serving-as the pivot on which the whole turns simultaneously. The valves and sleeve are so arranged vertically that when the valves are pressed down closely overthe opening, the groove in the inner surface ofthc sleeve shall be able exactly to cover both the openingsfand g,- and still further, the horizontal 'arrangement'is such, that when the valve 0 is turned over the opening D in the bottom of the lantern, the slot or groove shall be turned aside from the openings, and thus these openings be covered closely. Above the sleeve is screwed a burner, with, if necessary, up intervening washer, or the tube may be prolonged with a burner, and simplya washer, or equivalent, be plaeed over the sleeve, to keep it in place.

Thooperation of my device is as folloissz' Let the valve C he turned over the opening D, when the sleeve,

- being turned with the valve, will move the slot or groove e away from the'orificos f and g, and thus the gas is cot off. The attendant whose business it is to light the lamps curries a torch of eufiicient length to enable him to reach the lamp, and bypressing the cntl of the torch against the lug 1 turns the valve 0 to the right, the'elrrungement beingsuch that when the lug touches its limit on the right, the slot is brought over the openingsfand g. A communication is thus established throughout the tube, and the free llow of gas permitted by way of the orifices and groove, and by passing the torch through the opening, the gas is easily lighted.

A'sthe opening, D, made toadmit the torch, islarger than is needed for supplying air, (the ordinary holes being made for that purpose,) and as the return of the valve C would out 0d the gas,- the valve 13 is provided, which maybe turned from left to right, and thus close the lantern for the night; In the morning, when the v lamp into be extinguished, the attendant hns'only to place the torch-stafi' oi equivalent rod, against the lug l,

and push back both valves from right to left, by the some movement cutting.

off the gas and closing the lantern for the day. I

It is obvious that the details may be varied, or that devices may be provided for locking the valves withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

It is olso e'videht that thelighting of the lamps must be but the work of a moment, and in stormy, u inily.

weather, the operation is cficcted. much more certainly and easily.

Having thus-described my invention, what I claim, hnd desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States,is- I 1. A tube of a strect lump, of the described construction, when provided with a diaphragm nnd opening and having communication efl'ected or out oi? by means ot'an cnclosingslceve, all as described, and for the pure 7 pose set forth.

v for the purpose set forth.

2. In comhinhtion-with the above devices; I claim the valves, constructed and operated as desciihed, and

3 I claim a etrect lamp, so constructed, that the gas may be turned on or oil by moving the valve which closes the orifices of the lamp, bubstantially for the purpose set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed, this 15th day of May, 1868.

- y WILLIAM 0. WHEELER. Witnessest S. H. Emcx, M. R \Vnuumu. 

